Because no one can take what they cannot find

Tag Archives: time capsule

A plea to U.S. law enforcement officers and U.S. military service-members

This letter is directed to all law enforcement officers living in and employed in the United States by any level of government (including any type of peace officer; magistrate or officer of the court; township, parish or city police officers; county sheriffs and deputies; state troopers; state highway patrol officers; DOT enforcement; state or commonwealth Department of Public Safety officers; state fish and game or wildlife enforcement; federal authorities like the U.S. Park Police or FEMA and sworn agents of the FBI, DEA, ATF and DHS) and all enlisted or commissioned military service-members of the United States armed forces (including all state or commonwealth National Guardsmen and Reservists; and all active-duty or reserve Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy and Marine personnel employed by the Unites States Department of Defense) stationed anywhere in the world.

The American government is broken. The “system” has failed in so many ways and our once-proud country is in the process of collapsing. Our (yours and mine) Bill of Rights is gone and a large percentage of the American people have lost all faith in the individuals that we’ve elected and entrusted to “lead” us; however, the incompetence of our leaders is just too profound of a subject to delve into and that’s not the purpose of this letter. Most Americans who are old enough, educated enough, sober enough and alert enough can clearly see an impending catastrophe on the horizon. The rest (the majority, I’m afraid) are too worried about their Nike Shox or iPad to notice; or too dependent on the same broken system to question it.

In the last year, history, sociology and economic experts have agreed that the United States of America simply cannot continue as it has been. For a lot of us, our country feels like a runaway train speeding towards a massive cliff with no brakes; and the scariest thing is that even though we see what is happening, we feel helpless in being able to actually do anything about it. During the past 20 years, this helpless feeling has evolved into apprehension and during the past 3 or 4 years, apprehension has rapidly evolved into fear. Fear, driven and antagonized by mainstream media, has turbo-charged something called “the prepper movement.” Known as “survivalists” or “doomsday preppers;” average Americans who are concerned about providing the basic necessities for themselves and their families have started hoarding or hiding food, burying firearms, learning survival skills like gardening or trapping and organizing coordinated groups to pull together as prepper communities in the event of any variation of an economic collapse. The movement exploded exponentially before the 21st of December 2012 and no one truly knows how many “preppers” there are in the United States. I’ve personally done quite a bit of research in the past few months and my best guess would be at least 3 million Americans actively prepping; but as I said, that’s a guess at best.

I realize that one must tread lightly when speaking for others. As a result, for the rest of this script I will only use the words “we, us, our” when speaking for myself and a large group of survival preppers that I have recently met personally and discussed this subject with at great depth. For “us,” America is not a government or a piece of land, America is an idea. This group of people lives in my region and it consists of families; educated, sober and functional individuals who are true patriots. Like you, they believe in defending their Constitutional rights against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. It is only with their permission and blessing that I post this letter.

“We” are labeled by mainstream media and possibly our own government as being extremists, paranoid or if not yet; we will eventually be labeled as terrorists. Although part of our population consists of both active and retired police and military personnel; we are not combatants and not fighters. We do NOT want to fight anyone. We do NOT wish for an economic collapse, overthrow of the government, civil war, world war or any other variation of any apocalyptic event. We are not war-mongers, we are simply scared Americans; terrified for our loved one’s futures and afraid of our own government(s). Since you are employed by that government or governments; we are afraid of you.

One can do a search on YouTube and quickly find dozens of videos showing brutal and unnecessary violence by American police and military personnel. We know that these videos are the “exception” and not “the rule.” We know that the wonderful things that you do on a daily basis, the things that come at a great personal cost to you and your family, are rarely publicized. We know that your lives are difficult; political correctness and bullshit in general, combined with the constant threat to your physical safety and time away from your loved ones is unimaginable for some of us. We also realize that your sacrifices are for the most part overlooked or under-appreciated. This concept is a paradox as there are “bad apples” in every demographic. We realize that there are homegrown terror groups blending in with the survivalists and the militias and that it’s your job, your passion, to apprehend these people. We want these criminals and psychos caught just as much as you do.

True militias, preppers and survivalists are secretive for a reason but not because we are terrorists or criminals. Our federal government is so blatantly incompetent and criminal that we as Americans can no longer ignore the “conspiracy theories.” The rumors and supporting evidence of impending martial law and civil war are too widespread and put quite simply; we are afraid. We sneak around hiding food, supplies and weapons not of malicious intent, nor as the result of a criminal conspiracy against you or our fellow countrymen; but out of self-preservation and concern for our future and the future of our loved ones.

I titled this script “From one American to another: A plea to U.S. law enforcement officers and military personnel” and as an American child or teenager many years ago, I wouldn’t have believed that I would ever write such a letter. I understand that you have an obligation and an oath to follow orders, but my plea to all U.S. law enforcement and U.S. military personnel is to ask that when that day comes, PLEASE don’t turn your sidearms and rifles against us.

We have no intention of ever hurting another human being and almost half of us, myself included, do not even own a firearm. From one American to another, we are not enemies. Your leaders will lie to you just as quickly as ours will lie to us and we depend on you to protect us. Stop and think about it for a moment, we have more in common with each other than our political leaders and news services would have us believe.

Just like you, we believe in our Constitution, and we are divided only by our own prejudices and fears. Despite whatever your predispositions about us may be, we are on the same side. We are fellow countrymen and fellow patriots. Regardless of what you may read on CNN or what your commanding officers might say; we are not your enemy and you are not ours.

One of the most popular methods of caching underground is using military surplus ammo containers. On this page, I’ll be talking about the “old-school” Vietnam-era 5.56mm, 30 caliber, 50 caliber and 20mm ammunition canisters made out of steel. They are rectangular shaped, constructed as a one-piece box with a hinged, removable top with a locking clasp and a handle.

There is one very good reason why these steel ammo cans are popular with survivalists and preppers; and that’s quite simply because they work. They have a rubber seal around the lid and provided that you don’t get one with a bad seal, it won’t leak … ever. For what it’s worth, I’ve messed with dozens of these things over the years and I’ve never even seen one with a bad seal. I always instruct people to check this gasket when purchasing a military surplus ammo can; but even if you buy one with a bad seal, all you would need to do is run a bead of all-purpose silicone over the cracked or dry-rotted seal before closing it. The only time I’ve ever told someone to scrap one was because it was dented so badly that the box itself was deformed. Ensure that the lid closes properly and you’re “good-to-go.”

Another big plus is the ease of opening and closing, you don’t need tools to open or close them. Just pop the clasp and poof! you’re done, no screwdrivers or grease. Another added benefit is that they are already camouflaged, almost always painted in the traditional olive-drab matte green that is truly difficult to spot in the brush. The paint is tough and although they will eventually rust, you can take comfort in the fact that military-grade ammo cans take a very, very long time to rust all the way through.

Do you consider it paranoid to bury fuel? Unleaded gasoline and diesel theft are already quite common in every small town and every big city in the world. It’s almost as common as retail theft and as the fuel prices worldwide slowly rise, so does fuel theft. What do you think would happen to fuel theft statistics and crimes involving petroleum products in the event of an economic crash, natural disaster or any other event that could disrupt the oil industry? A single gallon of lamp oil or kerosene could fetch a hefty price many times it’s current value.

Want a tip for the long term storage of fuel? Gasoline is a perishable product and most preppers will agree that it’s preferable to use generators, lanterns and heaters that run from kerosene, diesel, lamp oil or even peanut oil because they degrade much more slowly. If you insist on stockpiling gasoline, it’s critical that you rotate it out with fresh product and caching underground may not be feasible. When storing liquid fuels, gasoline in particular, it’s important to completely fill your fuel jugs and tanks all the way up in order to remove as much air as possible. Here’s why…

Take an empty 20 ounce Coca-Cola bottle, rinse and dry it out completely. Screw the lid on tight and alternate placing the empty bottle in the freezer, then outside on a hot summer day and back in the freezer again. Sooner or later, if you continue to do this, moisture will start appearing on the inside of the bottle. This is the exact same thing that can happen to all of your fuel cans and gas tanks.

Have you ever tried starting a car that has just been parked in a garage or a field for a year or more? Even if there’s nothing wrong with the engine, it will more than likely smoke a little and won’t run very smoothly at first. This is due (in part) to the water that has condensed on the inside of the vehicle’s fuel tank. The daily rise and fall of the outside air temperature in response to the repeated transition from day to night slowly causes moisture to form and mix with the gas.

It’s as critical to provide temperature insulation for your liquid fuels as it is your electronic circuit boards, ammunition cartridges, medication bottles, documents and firearms. If you are uncomfortable storing flammable liquids in your home or other temperature controlled building, then one might consider burying them. Caching fuel underground; especially below the frost line, will help protect it from both moisture condensation and thieves or looters should any “chaotic” events occur.